Shook Up my World
by Grand High Idol
Summary: Just a quick songfic I did, based on Shook Up my World by Jon Fulton. Sort of my take on how Randall met Fungus. [Rated for suicidal thoughts]


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Shook Up my World

By Grand High Idol

Author's notes: Yeah, so, this is a rather short songfic I decided to write while listening to a song by Jon Fulton, entitled "Shook Up my World". It kind of reminded me of Randall…kind of. So I decided to write this short and hopefully sweet fic. All that said, enjoy…

I wandered the streets alone, my arms drawn tightly around my thin and emaciated body, shivering from the cold. I had left the place I had come from much earlier…I didn't even want to think about it. The mere thought of it made me shiver even more…that building…that tall, brick building. The place where I was left lying around like some abandoned doll, ignored by most and overshadowed by many others. My only use was to stand in someone else's shadow, which I felt that I was never intended for. But what was my purpose out here, then? What was I supposed to do now?

I drew my arms tighter around my body and finally slumped against a nearby building, bowing my head to keep the pouring rain out of my eyes, and to provide extra warmth. The rain beat down on me like mad—it was a heavy downpour—and I sat there, slumped against the building, feeling rather miserable, naturally. The other monsters on the streets ignored me, just like the other children at the building had…they walked right past me, every now and then splashing me with rainwater from the collected puddles on the sidewalk—heck, I even got drenched by a passing car that hit a puddle and sent a spray of water over my already cold form. I sniffed once (I wasn't exactly sure if it was from the cold or the emotional pain I felt; I was only a kid), then drew my tail around my body, trying only to stay warm…

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It was hopeless. I might as well just lay here and die, I was thinking. Sprawl myself out and die, that's what I would do. I would allow the darkness to take over and put myself out of my misery for good. 

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I was walking alone

And I didn't seem to know that

I was hardly alive

But my heart was beating

I breathe in the world with every step

I sighed, then looked up just in time to see another car pass by with tremendous speed in the middle of the street. At first I thought that I would do away with myself by just sprawling myself out in the center—right at the divider line—shift to match the street, and allow the next passing car to run me over. Or perhaps, I thought, an alternative would be to tighten the lavender scarf I currently had wrapped around my neck (it was the only memory I had left of my father. I hardly knew both my parents…I'm sure that they had abandoned me) around my neck, and sling it over the nearest horizontal flagpole. Hang myself. That would get me quite a bit of attention; much better than what I had now.

I shook my head. Hanging was a useless way to get attention. I wanted to do away with myself quietly, in a way that would be just as my life was—barren and ignorant. My mind once again shifted back to the idea of lying in the middle of the street and allowing it to run me over. The tires, if I was lucky, would probably sever my head from my shoulders. But I knew that I would have to be careful…the fuss everyone makes about kids going into the streets these days is preposterous. Well, I suppose in my case it would be…

I sat there, trying to think of another alternative to put myself down for good. My gaze fell upon a store across the street—it was a store that sold army relics. If I could get my hand on a good dagger, perhaps, I could bleed myself to death…or just end it in one quick stab…oh, sure, it would be a highly painful death, but afterward my patience would be rewarded. Rewarded with silence, possibly something more than that. I could probably have a better life than what I had now...it was rather tempting, actually. I could be anything I wanted…someone that would be at the top, never be ignored, have many friends…

Friends. That was one thing that I never had in my childhood years, or so it seemed at the time I was sitting against that building in the rain. All the children there ignored me—they considered me a freak of nature, just because I could shift colors and the fact that I was more intelligent than the lot of them put together. It was their loss, but because of this they considered me a freak, or a show-off, and thus made it a daily task to kick me or push me around. I couldn't take them all on, even though I was a rather tough fighter when it came to such incidents. Of course, because of that, even though it was only self defense, I was the one that received the punishment. And oh, how they would laugh…I still cringe at the very thought of the happenings back there, before I decided upon leaving for good. No one would even try to befriend me—not even the nurses there, and they usually were friendly with everyone. Not me. Not me…

I was taking up space

And I didn't seem to mind that

Someone there was knocking on my door

The thought of this brought back the sadness concealed within me. Being a kid, I could not control myself, as I can today…a single tear slipped down my cheek and mixed with the rain, and I slowly drew myself up into a tighter ball and lay there, shuddering. I wished, now, more than anything, to be where every other kid was: either at home with their parents, or maybe at school—it was April, I presume, after all. I was stuck out here, feeling sorry for myself because there was not another living soul to feel sorry for me. I was alone…just alone. And it seemed that it would remain that way for eternity, unless I did something about it. And the only way I saw how was to…well, yes, you probably know what I was planning on doing to myself.

Deciding that I wouldn't wait any further, I tugged at the scarf around my neck, then slowly began to raise myself up. Still shaking—from weakness, sadness, fear, and the cold—I drew myself up to full height and faced the street, and was about to run forward directly into the path of an oncoming car when—

"Hey!"

I open my eyes to another day

I wander around for the words to say

You shook up my world and that's okay

This caught me by surprise; I stopped dead at the curb and stood there for a few moments as I watched the speeding vehicle pass me by. I sighed, apparently whoever was talking had addressed this statement to me, and I thus turned around, in time to see a rather short, orange-red colored monster kid—he seemed about my age or so—standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at me. He was holding a blue umbrella over his head, and he appeared to be rather nerdy looking for some cases…you know, thick glasses, chicken legs, the whole deal here. I didn't seem to care at all, however, even though most of the kids said that you should avoid the nerdy types. Well, I never listened to them before (how can you listen to someone who smacks you around twenty-four seven?) and I wasn't about to now. But I couldn't think up a proper response to say to this kid…

I didn't need to; he spoke first. "That's a nice scarf," he commented, pointing at the item around my neck. I looked down at my scarf, then looked back at the kid, my eyes wide; no one had ever commented on my attire before. Needless to say, I was flattered.

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But he wasn't finished with his commentary. Taking a step closer to me, he added, "I like your scarf a lot, 'cause it goes well with your skin tone." He then took yet another step toward my direction.

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It's breaking me down but it feels alright

You're all that I need for this lonely ride

I'm here with you now, stay by my side

Taken aback by this, I backed up a bit, then, forgetting that I was backed against the curb, lost my balance and fell over, landing rather hard on the pavement. I saw stars—really, I did—and for a few moments lay there, dazed, as the kid slowly approached the curb and looked down at me; I was still sprawled out when he spoke. "Hey, sorry. I didn't exactly mean for that to happen…" He then did another thing that no one had ever done to me in my life…he extended his hand. "Here, you need a hand?"

My eyes widened at this chivalric gesture, and I swallowed hard; I could feel myself tearing up as I stared at his hand for a few more moments. Any other child at the place where I resided before would have ignored me, or laughed at my pain, or perhaps have hurt me even more than I had done to myself. I felt pathetic staring at this other kid with a look paying similar resemblance to a wounded puppy's, but I didn't know what else to do. How could I ever repay such a gesture…?

"Hey, do you need help, or not?" the kid asked me, shaking his extended hand. I looked at him, swallowed, then nodded and extended one of my hands, grabbing hold of his. He then shifted the umbrella he was holding to the other hand, then used his entire body to pull me off of the muddy street and back onto the curb. I paused to wipe the mud off of myself, then looked at him, as he stared back at me…through those thick-rimmed black glasses of his…he didn't seem to have been "faking" at all. (That was another thing that the kids back there did to me; they'd pretend to feel sorry for me when I fell or something like that, then do something that…I really don't want to talk about right now.)

For a few moments I couldn't speak to the kid. Then I finally swallowed hard and said, my voice sounding incredibly shaky, "Th-thank y-you."

The kid smiled back at me, then adjusted the umbrella back over his head and said, eyeing me, "Say, why were you running out into the street, anyways? Did you drop something in there or something? 'Cause if you did, we can always go get it…I lose things all the time. One time I lost my lint collection, and—"

"No, I wasn't looking for anything," I sighed, shaking my head. "Just a way out."

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Needless to say, the kid looked confused. "A way out of what?" 

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Taking my time

Just wanna see just where we're going

I bought another flask that left me burning

So show me the way

Cause I wanna go

I looked at him, my gaze rather melancholy, then shook my head again, turning away from his gaze. "You wouldn't understand," I told him; I couldn't help but sound depressed, even though this usually put other people down. "It was just something that happened to me…earlier. You just wouldn't understand, no matter how much I told you."

"Hey, I can understand things really well," the kid objected, walking up next to me. "I can even spell 'dictionary' without pausing the way a lot of people do. Want me to spell it? It's easy once you learn the proper word—"

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"No…" I looked back out into the street, longing to dart in front of the next passing car and allow myself to pass over. "I just need to take care of something, is all. You…you just wait here, okay? I've been wanting to do something like this for quite a long time, now."

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I was taking up space

And I didn't seem to mind that

Someone there was knocking on my door

The kid looked confused yet again, but he didn't say anything as I turned away from him and back toward the street. I then coiled back, then bolted forward, stopping in the middle of the street, and flattening myself out onto the ground. I could feel the warmth of the headlights on me…I could sense the vibrations of a moving car…I could hear the smooth sound of the tires on the pavement…just a few more moments, now…just a few more moments, and it would all be over with…

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My thoughts were halted by the screeching of tires, then a startled yell, followed finally by a muffled banging sound. Wondering why I wasn't in any pain, nor did any part of my body feel crushed to bits, I opened one eye and looked up in the direction that the car was supposedly coming in…in time to see, yes, you guessed it, the kid with the glasses. He was standing in front of me, holding out his hand, and the car was halted directly in front of him. I could make out the driver from the angle I was lying in; he seemed rather appalled at this kid's action. Needless to say, I didn't blame him; I was, too. 

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I open my eyes just another day

I wander around for the words to say

You shook up my world and that's okay

After a few moments, the driver leaned out of his window and shouted at the kid, "Hey! What do you think you're doing in the middle of the road! You kids are supposed to be at school, not halting everyone else's work!"

"You almost ran over someone," the kid replied firmly; he then turned around and gripped me by my first pair of arms. "You have to be more careful." He then lifted me up to my feet, once again bringing me that feeling of warmth that I had never felt before in my life up until this moment. He then nudged me gently in the back. "Come on, get over to the street before this guy decides to run over us both."

I was shocked, so I obeyed, and as soon as we had both stepped up on the curb, the driver gave a frustrated snort, then stepped on the gas and sent the car passing by the both of us. I stared after it for awhile, a far-off gaze on my face, while the kid with the glasses walked up next to me, then said, looking at me, "I had to do it. You looked like you almost wanted to get run over or something."

"I did," I finally admitted sadly, a sob in-between my words. The kid gave me a look of great concern, so I decided not to break and start sobbing uncontrollably; it would catch too much negative attention and would probably concern him even more than he was now. So I merely held my emotions to myself, as I continued, trying my hardest not to break, "That car was my one ticket out of this awful place…and I don't think I have the desire to do it again…not after what you did…"

"But you could've been killed!"

"I know…I know…"

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"Is that what you intended?" 

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It's breaking me down but it feels alright

You're all that I need for this lonely ride

I'm here with you now, stay by my side

I once again shot him that "wounded puppy" look. "Yes. If you knew a thing about what has happened to me in the past, you'll have every intention to let me do it again. I have nothing to live for. I just want to…leave…for good…so no one could be obliged to kick me around again." I once again let another sob escape my chest. "No one."

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The kid paused, then shook his head. "I wouldn't kick you around." I stared at him for a moment…he continued. "Death is wrong. Things like this are all wrong. If you need someone to turn to…something to live for…you can allow me to take care of it. To be honest, I've been kicked around a few times as well…" 

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Is this like the end of me?

I'm worried just a bit

It looks like a narrow road

I wonder if I'll fit

"How?" He had caught my interest by now. It was then that I remembered that I should properly introduce myself if I was to know him any better. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you my name…it's Randall. Randall Boggs…"

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The kid looked at me, then grinned again. "Nice to finally know your name." He shifted the umbrella again. "My name's Fungus Oz. The pleasure is all mine, believe you me."

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I open my eyes just another day

I wander around for the words to say

You shook up my world and that's okay

It's breaking me down but it feels alright

You're all that I need for this lonely ride

I'm here with you now, stay by my side

I briefly nodded, then realized that I was still soaked to the bone and still shivering. I drew my arms around my body for warmth again, but Fungus had already noticed. He shifted the umbrella one last time…so that it was covering me from the rain as well. I looked at him again, then responded with another grin at him. He returned the gaze, then slowly began to walk down the sidewalk, explaining how he was kicked around at school often. I followed, listening, as we left the streets and entered the haze. Together.

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Shook up my world

Shook up my world

Shook up my world

Yeah, yeah, yeah

THE END


End file.
